Campoli on Canadiens’ flight

Defenceman Chris Campoli was with his teammates as the Canadiens traveled from Quebec City to Toronto Sunday morning.
This is a good sign.
If Campoli had suffered a concussion or other injury as a consequence of Ryan Malone’s cheap shot, the likelihood is he would have returned to Montreal.

The team will travel by bus from Toronto to their pre-season bonding retreat in Collingwood, Ont.

Expect a Brendan Shanahan ruling on Malone some time Monday. The Tampa Bay forward was out for Habs’ blood from the opening whistle Saturday night.

His head was down, but it was down the whole time. at no point was is head up after hitting the first Tampa player. I don’t know what was under Malones skin, but I am glad to see Gorges stick up for his teammate. If the Habs had a guy that was willing to do that, and could actually fight, Price would not have been run over as much as he was Saturday night.

It’s amazing how the “we don’t need toughness on this team” crowd all seem to accuse the rest of us with a different opinion of the very things they themselves are guilty of:
_ Not reading posts – if I had a penny for every time I spoke of tough players with skill that can take care of themselves and their teammates if needed a la (Iginla, Byfuglien, Evander Kane and many others) and what I get is someone replying that we don’t need a goon. Seriously?
_ Not keeping an open mind – you speak of “proof” that having guys that can fight doesn’t deter and serves no purpose yet not one of you has presented anything resembling proof and you keep on repeating the same thing, how’s that keeping an open mind thing going for you?

Chorske and others on this board speak of olympic hockey as the type of game the NHL must aspire to, well here’s a minor detail: olympic hockey teams just like allstar teams are basically a collection of stars competing only on skill therefore are clearly devoid of dirty plays. Given that the NHL has 30 teams there aren’t enough stars to fill the rosters of every team so the reality is that you have guys like Malone on NHL rosters running around hurting other players. The way I see it, you need to deal with reality not utopia, so until the talent level on every single team resembles that of olympic rosters, your argument doesn’t stand and the need for guys that can fight after a dirty play will remain.

I’m the first to hope that Shanahan will continue down the path he’s on, one that I hope will lead to a significant reduction in the number of vicious plays that have no place in the game. However, even if successful, that number won’t come down to zero.

A question for you “pacifists”: when Chara rode Max Pacioretty’s head into the steel stanchion and not one of of our players was able to do a darn thing about it and send a clear that message that “this is where the buck stops” (kudos for Gomez for getting in Chara’s face) did you feel warm and fuzzy inside and comfortable in the knowledge that MaxPac could have died in front of your very eyes and the absence of fear that opposing players have of this team’s ability to draw the line when necessary emboldens dirty players with a clear intent to injure? Before any of you use the mere mention of Chara as an opportunity to make this about how big and strong Chara is and how no one in the league is able to stand up to him physically thus no “goon” would help matters, let me be crystal clear: the point is not Chara and only Chara, you could send a message by pounding Lucic who’s as valuable to the Bruins as MaxPac is to our team.

I am not advocating and never advocated having a goon but the bottom line is as long as this or any team can’t take care of itself bullies like the Bruins will not think for a second before taking every cheap shot they can at us and I for one don’t enjoy seeing the team I root for getting abused and our players injured.

Some of you didn’t appreciate the sig I had about the need for acquiring Paul Gaustad, sorry folks but if PG can’t acquire a Byfuglien, Iginla or Lucic type player, I sure would have liked to have Gaustad on my team the other night. I doubt Malone would have kept running around recklessly trying to hurt our players and ultimately succeeding very well I might add (ref the hit on Campoli and the gash on Gorges forehead). Folks a player like Gaustad can play the game (granted not at the level Iginla can) and has the physical tools and courage to take Malone to task sometime after he went after PK and guess what? I’m pretty sure the play on Campoli wouldn’t have happened the way it did, that is called prevention in my book.

It’s sad when Subban can’t fend for himself, a fighter like Subban. Honestly, that has the rest of the team knowing they are all small and no one has the guts to stand up for Price. This is a pathetic team. This is what you get when you have a sobbing sad case like Gauthier who doesn’t have the stomach to give us a real NHL team, instead he just signs players who are less than 6 feet 1 inch tall and don’t weigh more than 203 pounds. Everyone in the league sees we are a small team. No wonder they can come to Montreal and own the ice.

MJ. You are speaking to a flock of sheep. The so-called “pacifists” don’t want to hear an uncomfortable truth and would rather a sweet lie. Your analogy between utopia and reality is spot on and even though your words may ring true with the some people here, they fall deaf to those who’s minds are too closed to see beyond there own faith.

Like I said before. Mention size, grit, toughness, etc and people will knee-jerk reflex the reply that we don’t need goons or enforcers.

There is a clique here whose purpose is not to discuss or debate ideas but to console each other with virtual hugs and pats on the back.

I hope you show up at the summit. We can laugh about it over a beer or two.

This team has a transition game based on its D exiting our end by executing wicked passes at high speed to speedy wingers (Price is an offensive genius too). They’re fun to watch. They need to stay healthy to dominate. And they are always hungry and competitive.

I like their chances this year.

I was told that there was an award ceremony in Boston to honour Don Cherry – I thought about that for a brief moment and I replied: “For what?, too many men on the ice?

Watch Price shine folks. This is his year. From All Star game to playoff hero – let’s face it, he is looking for a ka-ching contract next year and this is his year to prove it. All habs fans will be the recipient of this awesome play we are about to watch first hand. To be honest, i was not thinking this a year ago. Price has proved me wrong. Who would have thunk it? How could Kungpow be wrong? I hear you…i really do…..there is a 1st time for everything, says kung pow. Indees. Habs 4 Leafs 3. Bring it!!!!

Another infraction the league needs to clamp down on is sticking a sweaty smelly gloved finger in opponents’ mouth. That needs to stop. I say an automatic 5 min major on that one. For a two-finger insertation, 10 min. and a game misconduct..and so on. The finger recipient has all legal right to bite down on said finger or fingers, but no longer than two secs, otherwise face a minor delay of game penalty. A facewash is a grey area, so leave it to Shanny’s discretion. Make it so.

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When the Hebrew scouts investigate the Promised Land of Canaan and return to discourage the other Hebrews from entering it..”We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” [Numbers 13:33]

Even though I think you are being sarcastic, I agree. Sticking your fingers into another mans mouth and then crying when you get bitten is the lowest of the low. If someone wants to be that despicable, they deserve, at the very least, to get bitten.

Facewashing is not a grey area. Facewashing and digital penetration are one and the same. It’s an assault and an attempt to intimidate, invariably after the whistle has been blown and play should/must stop. Both should be penalized as you outline.

For the Konopka-Honour faction out there, please understand that we are entering a new era in hockey. It’s the 14-HD-Cameras-For-Broadcasts+Everyone-Has-A-Smartphone Age. There probably was a time when there was a need for self-policing, with only one referee on the ice. With a public outcry against violence in hockey, with Brendan Shanahan replacing Bozo the Clown, and with no dirty deed going unobserved, the need for a Chris Nilan or John Ferguson diminishes daily.

Yesterday during the Ireland-Italy match an Ireland prop had his eyed gouged by the Italian hooker (begin facile remarks now). The Irish player was outraged and started trying to lace the opposing player (he actually targeted the wrong one) but the referee raced up to him and advised him not to retaliate, that it would be okay. Sure enough, the replay showed the foul being committed clear as day, and the player will face a long suspension.

This kind of knowledge will allow teams like Montreal to not feel a need to join the arms race and goon up.

Malone was interesting to watch last night, up to a point. He looked like he’d been told to get nasty or get packing. He was agitated and nervous from the start, skating around with a look on his face like he’d just been goosed. The man was an intentional accident waiting to happen, and he delivered. Either he has taken too many headshots himself, or the second coming, what’s his name who coaches Tampa, is not the NHL coach we expected to see.
If a guy is on the ice is playing mean, awkward and dangerous, it’s not like he ran out of the hot dog concession and threw himself on the ice. He was sent out to prove something he wasn’t smart enough to pull off cleanly. He appeared to spend the whole game looking for a moment to make his mark.
He was clearly good at terrorizing the Habs off their game and causing their crushing defeat. Well, okay, maybe not.

I’ve watched you move the goal posts all over teh fricken field on this one. Sound arguments based on logic or evidence are dismissed, anecdotes ignored with a the old ‘no true scotsman’ ploy.

Why? If tough guys haven’t been shown to actually provide a deterrant (although I liked the idea that we should have pre-emptively gone after Malone– “We need to fight them at centre ice so we don’t have to fight them in our d zone”?) and the list of players provided as being “the solution” is in fact a vanishingly small list of players culled from different decades is ridiculous as some sort of retort to Habs managment, I ask again why?

Why the allusions to family and caring and protection and the need to stand up for one another and, “Oh, I’m so disappointed in you Plecky, failing to adhere to some Hammurabian code of an eye for an eye” ?

Could it be because you want the players to fight, and punch and intimidate? You’ve said as much. Why do you want this to happen? And are the reasons for the wanting of violence and mayhem and retribution justifiable? Could they ever be? How many extra wins would make your desire to see some Habs player risk life and limb to beat the snot out of some putz on the other team acceptable? How many punches in the face is a blind-side hit worth? How many broken orbital bones? hands? psyches? How much violence exactly should other human beings (not you, you’re safe at home) engage in for you to feel satisfied?

By all means keep up with your baying for that tough guy that’s going to take care of the team, keep other teams honest– but don’t think for a moment that some hockey fans won’t grumble at the irony of you’re choices being neither– instead more people get hurt, and the honesty you seem to require of other teams is missing from your arguments.

What I find consistently bizarre about the must-have-goons crowd is that when you have a goon taking up a fourth line roster spot for little positive value, he has to actually be on the ice occasionally to “deter” and he has to be on the ice at the time of the incident to “respond”.

So campoli gets flattened while the Number 1 line is on and mythical goon is … where? On the bench? Leaving the bench for a guaranteed suspension? Shoehorned into the Number 2 line on the next change so he can mount a counter offensive? Sent out on the #1 Power Play unit that is coming out because of said opposing goon’s penalty?

Is the entire coaching staff then consumed with the complex calculus of how you get your goon out to take care of business? It strikes me like trying to plan the 3rd pit stop of a formula 1 race while trying to drive the car.

If not this, then what? Make sure you have at least one goon on the ice at all times? Devote 5 or 6 roster spots to goons? everyone is talking about how in the modern NHL you need a 3rd line to contriute significant secondary scoring, but you are going to sacrifice not only that, but offensive contribution from you top line, second line, first and second defensive pairs, because you know, they will spend a fair amount of time on the ice.

So while I certainly appreciated Josh Gorges’ willingness to jump in on that asshat Malone, in the name of righteousness and solidarity, I don’t think he was required to, nor is it shameful for anyone not to jump the batard. The play was over. The harm was done. It’s not like someone was being double teamed in an assault in progress.

Anyhow, if someone can find a half a dozen psychos who are not a complete liability on an NHL roster, I guess they can put together the Boston Bruins II or “Broadstreet!” (a 1970s Philadephia Flyers tribute act) but there really are limited options to find and cultivate those sort of teams and players, and they require the direction of some seriously malevolent neanderthal luddite scumbag ownership.

It remains to be seen whether Mr. G Bettman can sit on his hands while his bestest pals are methodically suspended out of contention, but I think even that evil dwarf will understand that intervening to undercut Shanny on the most obvious clean-up-the-game-before-it-destroys-itself mission is PR suicide for the NHL in its seemingly Sisyphusian mission to expand into the great American market where most consumers think of the NHL in “I went to a boxing fight and a hockey game broke out” terms.

I’m here all week. Take my wife, please. No seriously, take her, she is on my case something fierce.

Did Berkshire call Nathan Horton a big puss below. If Horton is a puss, then what are all of the Habs players. Do you not remember what Horton did to Theo Peckham last year. Not one Hab could have done this. Here it is if you don’t remember it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL4w92uv2VU

And this guy was availabe for cheap last summer. Just the type of player the Habs could use but PG was asleep at the wheel.

Nathan Horton is a pussy. The reason he was traded from Florida is that he played soft and scared even if he was one of the biggest guys on the Panthers. He’s playing tough now that he’s surrounded by goons, it’s a common situation known as facilitated aggression. That’s the same reason your yappy little dog acts all tough when you’re around, he thinks he’s protected because you’re all-powerful, able to open cans of food and open doors, so he barks at the pitbulls.

He did pretty well in the fight you linked us to, but he did so knowing five or ten gorillas had his back. I know his type, guys like him would stir stuff up in hockey and rugby then look over their shoulders at me and other guys to make sure we were there to jump in.

Also, he didn’t come cheap, Boston gave up a #1 draft pick for him, we’d have had a meltdown if we had traded away a #1.

5 QUESTIONS:
1. Now that camp is over, Gauthier is (or should be) kicking himself because he signed/didn’t sign ________.
2. Scott Gomez will have _____ points this year.
3. Markov will be back ___________.
4. What the Habs most lack is ___________.
5. This _______ the year we win the cup.
SD
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!

1. Now that camp is over, Gauthier is (or should be) kicking himself because he didn’t sign Campoli sooner
2. Scott Gomez will have 50 points this year.
3. Markov will be back by october 15th
4. What the Habs most lack is respect from the rest of the league and media.
5. This might as well be the year we win the cup

Chill out everyone? Noone will take fighting out of the game!!! What needs to go are the staged fights….. Make the penalty for fighting severe enough that it will not make sense to stage a fight. If two guys want to go at it like malone and gorges let them go, but they should automatically be thrown out, just like any other sport… What I would have liked to see in last nights game was a hab challenging malone in the first period, That’s what the habs are missing!!! I don’t want to see our players reacting after a dirty hit, I want them to be proactive. For once I would like to see our players be more agressive. Do you all remember when BGL chased Lucy all around the ice three years ago, Lucy was too afraid to drop them and was completely ineffective in the game. That’s what the habs are missing!!! We do not need a goon to drop them with the other teams goon, we need to challenge the malones and lucys of this league before they injure our players…

Good post Oakville. I look forward to the day the Habs don’t always react to a physical game but can initiate it as well. Shanny is doing well but don’t expect fighting to be out of the NHL anytime soon. It is still an element of the game that the Habs need to address bigtime.

Exactly, so institute a one fight rule. If there is really a need to drop the gloves two guys will go, all other fights will disappear pretty
quick I’d think. I dunno, I don’t mind legit fights, I don’t mind staged fights, but what really pisses me off is when there’s a clean hit and the hit-ee has to defend themselves from the third man in (who is supposed to be the “instigator”, although they rarely invoke that rule it seems).
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They lost me 2 quarts of rum, better make it up next year with a cup!

Fighting will be ousted before the next contract. Player protection will become strict rules. The likes of what Lucic did in the TB series will be followed by a suspension. And you know what! We won’t loose any fans for the new rules. Just like the NFL protected quarterbacks and kickers and all players from direct head contact. OH by the way you can’t fight in the NFL or CFL. And if we do loose a few fans it will only be the numb skulls.

I agree, too many numbskull owners(snyder) & managers (burke)to make this happen right away. The first idiot that has to go is Don Cherry, his neanderthal ways celebarate the lesser talents and goons over the more talented players. I think Shanny has this going in the right direction, but it will take at least one more generation to effect real change.

So let me get this straight, all players with size and grit are really only goons and enforcers. As well, only small and speedy skilled players are true hockey players in today’s game and tough gritty players are a thing of the past.

So Hall Gill was wasting his time by tackling Malone and should have just let him pound the crap out of PK. I get it now.

I can’t argue with that. Also to provide some extra checking, bumping and grinding, add a few inches and pounds here and there for some extra reach and inertia, and maybe to also open space for the little guys.

The reason why I as a 14 year old loved it that Robinson beat Schultz was that it was the beat down that ended the Broadstreet Bullies reign of terror. It also put an end to Bobby Clobber’s career.

It was about a very talented team imposing it’s will upon another talented team but one that used intimidation as it’s ace in the hole.

I’ll never forget this quote because I saw it said live.

“This is not only a victory for the Canadiens; it is a victory for hockey. I hope that this era of intimidation and violence that is hurting our national sport is coming to an end. Young people have seen that a team can play electrifying, fascinating hockey while still behaving like gentlemen.” – Serge Savard.

HH amazing isn’t? If some people would have it their way NHL hockey would become contact free… eventually, so smaller talented players can exhibit their talent in optimal conditions. Just writing this makes me laugh.

Another straw man argument. No-one is talking about removing contact. I just love the game and am sick of dreading the inevitable on-ice fatality that WILL occur if nothing is done to clean up the dirtier aspects of the game (some would say “grittier”). Also: I really like Olympic hockey and I don’t see any reason why the NHL can’t similarly showcase a game that is based on speed and talent rather than grinding boredom interspersed with potentially-lethal headshots.

For those who noted PriceBrulegate, you might enjoy this from the Boston Globe:

“The Bruins had viable reasons to like Zach Hamill when they took him eighth overall in the 2007 draft. First of all, he was the top scorer in the WHL with 93 points. But four-plus years later, his September training camp was underwhelming yet again, leaving the 23-year-old center in Providence for a fourth AHL season. Truth is, he is younger than most players who leave college after four years. But he hasn’t filled out physically and his game has gone flatter than an IHOP short stack. Hard on the eyes right now, especially given the NHL accomplishments of some later picks in ’07: Logan Couture (9), Brandon Sutter (11), Kevin Shattenkirk (14), Max Pacioretty (22), Perron (26), not to mention P.K. Subban (43).”

i’m sort of lost on this whole debate about having a “tough guy” on the team to protect the stars. While it is nice to see a guy able to step up when necessary, how is having a goon on the team going to stop bad hits from happening? Do you think that just because there is a tough guy on the team, the other team will not go for the big hits? Would having a tough guy on the team have stopped Malone from hitting Campoli like he did? What about the Penguins, who have guys that can stick up for the team. That didn’t stop Crosby from getting hurt. What about Savard, on the team with THE MOST BLOODY GOONS in the league? Did having goons who can fight prevent that? And Horton in the playoffs.

Several things have to happen in order for a goon or “tough guy” (as some prefer to call it) to be able to seek retribution. He has to be on the ice when a star player or someone in general gets hurt. That would mean playing a guy like Konopka with Cammi, Pleky, Gio etc etc. Or do you simply want this goon to go out and seek retribution? Retribution never works.

I prefer my team to have guys that stick up for each other, not goons whose only job is to go out and fight. Not goons who will get suspended for seeking retribution. In my opinion, the Habs are a team based on class, not thuggery, not goonery. Congrats to Gorges for fighting a bigger guy and sticking up for his teammate. That makes me more pleased than seeing a guy chase down opponents just to try to hurt them or fight them.

Look Petrov we’re not talking goons here or protecting stars so get over it… all of you. I’ll quote the most venerable Mike Boone first of all…. quote ” The Tampa Bay forward was out for Habs’ blood from the opening whistle Saturday night.” unquote.
So Oleg did you watch the game? Did you miss, like some trolls on this site, that fact which Mr. Boone points out?
Our point is that Malone should have been challenged in the first if not certainly the second period. IF the Habs had a fourth line heavy weight warrior or a rough and tumble Dman Mr Malone’s evil intentioned antics would have been terminated much earlier in the game. Point final.
The Habs don’t and consequently Malone ran rough shod over the team all game long which culminated in the head shot to Campoli.
Is it possible to win a hockey championship with talented but physically challenged players? Maybe. All we’re saying is it sure would be nice to have at least one player who wasn’t physically challanged and who could, you know, win a fight if he had to.
’nuff said.

“I figure PG has one or 2 moves left to bring the Habs that extra step closer to perhaps being the best in the league.” – Einstein

so, tough guy fights malone, this ends malone’s hit on Campoli? Really? You actually think that would change Malone’s game? Ok, let’s say it does. Vinny Lecavalier or Victor Hedman now throw the head shot, accident or not, but it still happens. Well shit, they should have had a tough guy to go after those guys from the beginning of the game. So, Vinny and Victor get taken out by our tough guy. Then, maybe it’s Downie that throws the head hit. Well shit again, they should have taken Downie out in the beginning of the game.

My point is, and it is pretty bloody apparent in my comment above, that challenge or not, this stuff is going to happen. Having a tough line on the team is NOT going to change the way these guys throw hits. Getting into a fight is not going to stop a guy from hitting another guy in the head.

I refuse to see how winning a fight will make any difference in the outcome of plays like this. If it’s not one guy, it’ll be another on the team that may do it.

Yes…if somebody had smashed Malone in the chops, when it should have been done in the first or second period he would have modified his behaviour… no doubt .
Your scenario of… what about if him or him or him had….. is just nonsense.
If your not getting the point by now you prolly never will.
’nuff said

“I figure PG has one or 2 moves left to bring the Habs that extra step closer to perhaps being the best in the league.” – Einstein

none of you gooners ever deal with the fact that star players and bit players alike get creamed and injured by schmucks like Malone regardless of whether a goon is on the bench. instead all you guys do is say lazy lazy shite like “you don’t get it” and “nuff said”. meanwhile, you’ve failed to address any of the solid points Petrov brings up. Lazy lazy.

right, because there is nobody else on the team that threw big hits in the game.

your scenario of “modifying his behavior” is ridiculous. Malone’s job is to go out, hit and fight when necessary. Having someone “smash Malone in the chops” wouldn’t have changed anything. If anything, it probably would have made him want to hit more and get back some dignity. Do you actually think that losing a fight changes a players behavior? That’s his job. If he were to back down every time he lost a fight or got hit hard, he wouldn’t be in the bloody NHL.

You guys aren’t getting it… he’s right. Nobody is saying we want a goon like BGL. If they are then that’s non-sense. People want someone with a combination of the two. Lucic and Iginla are examples, whether you like them or not, they can fight and play very well. Secondly the whole Savard played on Boston and blah blah blah! well no shit. We’ve heard this at least twice a day every day on the boards here. But what happened last night could have been stopped in the first period when Malone was monkeying around. We’re not going to say a capable fighter will end all head shots. That’s not going to go away very easily. There are so many things that factor into it and I believe respect is a huge issue, but that’s a whole different topic all together. But a capable fighter can be a small preventative measure which can stop someone who’s going around head hunting by addressing it early, before the shmuck hurts someone. Remember when Cammalleri chopped Nino Nieteriter’s ankles after he was running the team last preseason? That’s an example of when some little shit was put in his place. After that incident Nino was done with BS, he just started standing around at centre ice looking for a break away pass.

How much more of this bulls@#t do we need to endure or do the Habs skill players have to endure? Sure Georges jumped in (all the credit to him) but he’s not a fighter and also got cut up during the fignt with this goon Malone. We NEED SOMEONE TO PROTECT OUR SKILL PLAYERS as this seems to happening to us on a regular basis. Wake up PG & JM or we will lose more players.

Remember that time in 2005 when McGuire went ballistic over the Habs blowing their 1st round draft pick on a goalie? Well the guy he suggested the Habs should have taken instead, got cut by the OILERS today.

My understanding that it was a divider on the team with Timmins heading the group that favored Price and Andre Savard heading the group wanting Brule. Gainey had to make the final call and supported Timmins at the draft table. Andre Savard started looking for new work shortly afterwards.

This is why McGuire will never become a GM for anyone in the NHL. Can you just imagine where the Habs would be today under this bone head guidance. The Houle and Grundman years revisted in one complete dumb,dumb.

To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.

I see it as top 5 goaltender in the league or a top 20 center. Not to mention that at Price’s progression he’ll probably be the best goaltender in the NHL over the next decade. Can Kopitar claim that kind of dominance? He’s insanely skilled but I don’t think so.

Gilbert Brule was just put on waivers by Edmonton to send him down to the minors.
This was the kid that divided the Hab management when we drafted Price instead. Guess we bit the bullet here between him and Poupou.
Because other then rescuing Buno when his car broke down, what has he accomplished?

The era we are in now with the controlled hitting and the questioning of whether fighting should be out of the game or not is just so different than the 60’s 70’s and 80’s .. really hockey’s golden age. We saw some of the best teams in the history of the NHL in each of those decades plus the best ever singal seasons from forward position, defence ever in the history ofthe game. Not to mention two of the 3 best players in the histroy of the game (Gretz, Orr) in their prime.

Now its just different…it just seems so meaningless at this point. We really can’t compare anything to seasons of the past because of the the different rules and the game is just beyond recognizable compared to those eras. I guess my concern is the deflating of the hockey bubble so to speak. We are changing the scope of our game so much with the percieved erradication of hitting and fighting (eventually). I dunno…I guess I just expect things to stay the same or get better…not to progessively get worse i.e. entropy….ohhh I hate entropy.

In a physical game like hockey is and for those who have played know the intensity ofthe moment and how you get caught up. I just think that fighting is the fabric of the game so is hitting.

I don’t think that fighting needs to go as well as hitting…regulating it for stupidity is fine but in time this won’t be enough and it will have to go completely. I was a guy who fought and hit and hit to hurt and fought to hurt and it just seems silly playingthe game without those elements. I always take the world juniours as a good example. There is no fighting there and the kids hammer eachother, especially with Canada, but you neversee any fighting although a few of the canadian boys would love to puchout some of those mouthy russian and american players and vica versa for sure. I guess I highlight that as an example of elite hockey with purity and high level play and skill. The problem with this … same as the Olympics…. is that is a tournament.

I would love to see that tyupe of hockey for 82 games plus playoffs but you never will. There is too much hatred and malcontent for that. Lets say Canada and the US play eachother 10 times over 5 month’s and then play eachother in a best of seven playoff series. Do you not think that there would be a fight or two or some dirty hits….plus Canada would win but I digress.

All I am trying to say is that if you take hitting and/or fighting out completely then don’t call it hockey…cause it aint the game I’ve played or now how to or how the greats of our time and past know how to play….what about richard if there was no obstruction or illegal hitting or refs holding you down in a fight or proper training. Just imagine the goal differentials. Same with Gretz or how long would Orr play without the targeted beating he took to his knees and also how long would Pat Quinn been suspended for in this day nad age NHL.

I just hope that people remember the hockey that got us inspired had illegal hits and rampant fighting and some of the great heros were as bad as anyone else in administering it….I dunno…just frustrated with all this talk and goofy suspensions.

I intentionally didn’t use guys that are playing today in order not to take the discussion down the road of implying trades, but here you go:
_ Jarome Iginla
_ Alex Ovechkin
_ Mike Richards (yes we all hate him)
_ Milan Lucic (we hate him even more)
_ Joe Thornton
_ Patrick Marleau
_ Shea Weber
_ Evander Kane

These guys are all allstars…they don’t exactly grow on trees. I would hardly say that PG is purposefully not signing/acquiring a tough as nails guy who can score 30 goals. for the most part, the ‘tough’ guys that the habs (and most of the teams) have access to essentially have very little to offer in the way of skill.

Yes they are all allstars but didn’t Richards and Dustin Byfuglien and Nathan Horton (didn’t include them above) get traded? How about drafting them? We picked Terry Ryan as the 8th overall pick in 1995 instead of picking Iginla who was picked 11th and I knew we was going to be a star from watching him at WJC that year.

Heck Wayne Gretzky (IMO the greatest player ever), from my list of retired players Lindros, Messier, Chelios, Tkachuck, Robinson, Corson and Shanahan all moved teams in their careers. You telling me PG can’t make it happen?

AB without debating the merits of each player on the list which you might be right on 100% of the time. Do players in the mold of the retired players or any of the ones on my list that you like fit the profile of a goon in your opinion?

Then how do you explain that every single one of the players on my list of retired players has moved teams at least once in his career and Thornton, Richards and Byfuglien from my list of current players (excluding Horton to accommodate your argument) have moved teams? Players do get traded. It’s the GM’s job to make it happen.

How about at the draft? I’m quite optimistic that the Leblanc, Tinordi and Beaulieu will be solid players but time will tell if PG could have done better.

HH I noticed that only a few people replied with only AB engaging in a discussion. The others simply dismissed my point with no replies. I would have thought this is exactly the hot button issue of the moment that would have attracted more reasonable debate. Next time I’ll just write that the Habs should acquire a goon to make the counter argument easier

Gotcha but there is no shortage of players around the league I can put on that list that no one can debate are tough as nails and can play. My point is that PG and his predecessors should have been continuously looking to acquire such players (not goons) but alas they haven’t and “the proof is in the pudding” as they say.

MJ. I hear you loud and clear. But for the most part you might as well be talking to a brick in the wall. Some people have their minds made up and are not willing if even capable of looking at the counter to their POV because they’ve already dismissed it as fiction.

What I’ve learned in life is those that ridicule people for being close minded are generally equally if not more close minded themselves.

I like all of the guys listed here, but not for the same reasons you do, MJ. For instance, I like scoring Ovie and happy hockey Ovie, the one that plays with complete abandon and sheer joy for the game; but I very much dislike that part of him that occasionally plays dirty.

Evander Kane is another one. A great kid, probably on his way to becoming a consistent 50-60 point player… and yet all anyone ever talks about is the time he mashed Matt Cooke.

…I questioned the realism to take fighting out of hockey below …and the same time I make the case We must have stringent rules and penalties for hits to the head
…which even to Me is admittedly, at least on the surface, hypocritical as in ‘having Your cake, and eating it too’ kinda hypocrisy
…THAT is also the dilemma for the NHL and Us as fans
…I can’t say I have the answer for it, because I feel in hockey that certain players and their deeds must be responded to in like-kind or a punch in the mush
…I am afraid My feelings are that when You are part of a team, your team-mates are Your brothers
…in real life, if I was there when some bully attacked or stole something from a member of My family, I would NOT simply tap 911 into My smartphone and await the police
…last night, after Malone left Campoli in a concussed heap on the ice, I noticed the profile of Plekanec merely looking on passively, likely saying to Himself a mere ‘Oh My !’
…it was ONLY Our Josh Gorges that responded and confronted Malone in any way
…maybe it’s only Me, I don’t know, but if I was laying on the ice like Campoli I would be very disappointed the whole Habs’ bench did not come on the ice, and join Gorges in a reminder to the Malone-types, You won’t get away with THAT
…I am a Montreal Canadiens Fan because I personally enjoy classy speed skill oriented hockey
…but the successful eras of the Montreal Canadiens always had ‘a family’ commitment to each other
…if no John Ferguson was present, We met instances of brutality and intent to injure of Our Players with a Team response
…Pleks is an all-round (skillwise) member of Our Team in My eyes, but I just lost some respect for Him as far as cojones go
…as well anyOne else on the ice at that time that chose just to stand there …except Our Josh, that is

Really looking for things that are not there eh?
Pleky has routinely thrown punches at anyone that roughed up his goalie (Price in particular) and gotten penalized for it many times. Once Jorje flew in on Malone, what else was he to do except crowd control like the rest of the players on ice were doing…

Ah yes, the logical move for a borderline hit is a bench clearing brawl. This isn’t the 1980’s anymore. The team would get ripped by the league. Every players on the roster would be suspended automatically for 10 games. Dumbest comment on HIO since I’ve started frequenting this site.

——————————————————————-
When the Hebrew scouts investigate the Promised Land of Canaan and return to discourage the other Hebrews from entering it..”We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” [Numbers 13:33]

——————————————————————-
When the Hebrew scouts investigate the Promised Land of Canaan and return to discourage the other Hebrews from entering it..”We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” [Numbers 13:33]

…Andy, Andy …our petulant little Berkshire Cat !
…thought it would be too irresistible for You not to jump in Andy …reinforcing to those Whom have played hockey that Your tubby little backside never did
…a problem with the mercenary and transient nature of hockey players on hockey teams today is reflected in HOW players in general respond to, say, a Malone-like moment in a game
…I wasn’t being literal about pouring off the benches (unless there was no choice like the other team coming off their bench), I was saying, as a Player, committed to a Team and His ‘brothers’, You can be seriously inspired or demoralized by HOW Your Brothers responded in such an attack
…literally what would I appreciate from My Team-mates if I had been in Campoli’s predicament ? …My feelings of ‘bonding’ to My Team and Team-mates would have been immeasurably multiplied by knowing everyOne on My Team on the ice went towards Malone in a show of Team unity …and KNOWING all on the bench were standing at the ready if need be
…if not such an indication of moral, if not physical support ? …well, then I will happily continue collecting my cheques until I get the first chance to get out of here
…is THAT …a little more clear for ya Andy ?

HS I can understand your frustration, and I’m sure that Campoli’s teammates did too, but Andrew’s right.
The rules are different now. Bench clearing is no longer allowed, and Josh stood up for him because he’s honourable that way.
Just like Gill took care of Malone when he went after PK.
There’s no use in having the others jump in for futility’s sake.
The best revenge is a victory.
Shanahan will take care of the rest, and over time (hopefully a short one), the goons will come to realize that they’re bordering on extinction.

this team is a JOKE! Gorges sticking up for campoli.????????????? they refuse to get a little bit of toughness…..i have no idea why???…….other teams may have smaller players, but as you go down the lines, the players get bigger and tougher……..i wont talk about the first two lines…….leave it as is….i wont be that unreasonable………….but the 3rd and 4th line……….not even 1 legitimate tough guy to take care of a guy like malone?……..desharnais, eller, darche????………………..

thing is, even if you dont have tough guys on the team, you at least need guys to take shots back, when your better players are hit………..konopka would have been a good 4th liner…..

IDK…..A message needed to be sent and Gorges answered the bell, admirably..The game is evolving….The day of the knuckle dragger is closing fast…Konopka is crap..We don’t need him..Other than faceoffs he is nothing more than a goon that takes stupid penalties…..

totally agree with you, shanahan will take care of it…….but…….in a scenario like campoli’s……….malone might get a 5 game suspension……….and what if campoli ends up with a career ending concussion……….?….as a hab fan, i want to win the stanley cup, i dont care for malone and his game suspensions, i want players on the team that will make malone think twice before taking a cheap shot.

watch the game again, downie pushes a d man on price at the end of the game, NO ONE even confronted downie…….we’re talking about price, not campoli…….the next best thing since roy…..and you let a sore loser like downie just push a player on him and not do a thing about it……..its these little details that have to be corrected…..

its simple, you have the skilled, not so tough players, they may not be warriors, but hey, they can score and win you games…………then you have the downies……..the malones……and so many more around the nhl………….what they do best, is to intimade, take cheap shots….ect….. you need guys to cancel them out of the game, leave our very talended players comfortable on the ice………..remember, tampa’s talented players, lecavallier, stlouis, stamkos, there is a reason why malone, downie and others are on that team…………….we need the same

gorges at least stepped up, doesnt matter that he lost. he showed a lot out there by just stepping in.
youre not gunna stop the hits by having a goon in your line up. they will happen regardless. not to mention, you cant guarantee that your goon who is a waste of money since he cant do much else, will be on the ice when these hits happen.

so refrain from writing stupid posts because everyone who is actually knowledgeable about hockey and how you dont need a goon is sick of hearing it.

even chris nilan said we dont need a player like that, and he would know.

refrain? are we talking about hockey ? ………we’re debating, not calling each other names……i love internet tough guys like you…….call people names, debate with absolutey no argument…….????….why are you even replying?…..are least give me a reason to read your post………i talked about why we need tough guys, you respond by chris nilan said so?……and thats hockey knowledge ?

I am pretty sure Konopka or any other meat-head would not have been on the ice with the 1st line. The deterrent will come in the 5+ game suspension that is coming for Malone. Having to fight after a cheap shot is not a deterrent, 5 games is going to cost Malone more $ than most of us make in a year. And if he does it agin he will likely get 10, judging by how hard hard Shanny has been hitting guys in the last few weeks. These guys are professionals, take their dough and they will get the picture. Shanahan is on the right track.
Little consolation to Campi who got his bell rung, however I hear he passed the concussion test and is clear to continue

…taking fighting out of hockey ?
…I just don’t see it
…the game is all about going to war
…hockey, at least My hockey, is not about logic-defying verbal pablum debates at the UN’s Security Council …it’s the real deal of ‘combat’ in the jungles of the third world
…at least, to the extent of being within the rules, to those of free will, that love such an adrenaline rush
…it’s why We in the past, those today, and more in the future, did/do/will love this special sport
…hockey is a war-game of skill and controlled-brutality
…because it is also ‘a game’, the key is the level of control we administer to protect Ourselves from Ourselves
…Our brains being the centre to Our beings, is an obvious priority for special emphasis to protect so We can return happily to the combat We lust for
…’lust’ for hockey ? …hmmmm, yes, I think so
…take for example how increased Our endorphin-levels are/were after a good victory against Tampa last night
…in fact, We can debate Our relative pleasure-levels following a great hockey victory by Our Habs to whatever Your idea of great sex is
…I KNOW I was whistling this mornin’ with a glint in My eye as I was makin’ My kids their waffles this mornin’

Too bad you feel this way. IMO this attitude is ruining the game and you’re obviously going to miss it when it’s gone.

And got to love those citing warrior creeds and similar nonsense from the comfort of their own couch. Honey, can you bring me another beer and bag of Dirotos while I type out this passionate plea for others to display the fearlessness, honour and valour I dream of.

I just read the first three lines of your post and stopped. So many fallacies and faulty premises that you set up to tear down…

Hockey is about “going to war”, probably a romanticized ‘Band of Brothers’ notion. In any case, so were all the rugby and football games I played. Never got into any fights in those.

The round-robin stage of the Rugby World Cup just finished. Those games were played by some of the largest, fittest, bravest, meanest human beings on earth, and the sport is way more physical than hockey is. The games had much higher stakes than Saturday’s pre-season game, with national pride at stake. We didn’t see any fights during these games, staged or otherwise. Still was a thrilling, adrenalin-producing spectacle.

The situation isn’t digital, it’s analog. It’s not as if you exact meaningful penalties for fighting in hockey that it instantly transmogrifies into a debate club. Your assertion is ludicrous. You’re setting up your arguments like Fox News does with their talk of ‘socialism’ if universal health care is discussed, or ‘class warfare’ when the idea of raising tax levels on the more fortunate members of American society. There is ample middle ground between both poles.

Hockey can be a wonderful game that is fast, exciting and physical without the routine idiocy of the likes of Sean Avery, Steve Downie or Brad Marchand. I can accept the occasional Vincent Lecavalier-Jarome Iginla spontaneous tilt, but think we can remove 95% of the other fights and it would improve rather than hurt hockey.

Chorske; I live in the states, have lived here 20 some odd years, lived in Boston for 5, Chicago, Cleveland, Jersey, now Florida. Point I was trying to make was that no matter how illiterate a tattoo artist would be in Canada he would never misspell Stanley cup… Champion on the other hand. By the way you can’t blame a faulty table on Ryder. I saw the video and obviously the person who set up the the table did not secure the foldable leg properly. Perhaps a disgruntled hab fan.

From the tweater; Cammy and PK are to be roomies at Collingwood!
And they have started their chirping via tweater early on the bus ride.
You know where the party will be in Collingwood. Yeah, Cammy is supplying all the bio drinks and snacks any fitness fanatic could want!!

That it ….all you soft pacifist Habs fans ,I’m calling you out!If you didn’t understand after last night’s one man Malonathon for 3 full periods of play, that you viewpoints are nice and all but helping to get Habs player injured “broken necks,concussed,knee’s taken out etc” then please stop watching! It’s obvious your viewpoints are more important to you than the reality’s your broken senses are sending to your vacant craniums ! Since when is the fabled city of Shangri la in La belle Province eh?”As nice as Montreal is ,nope!”
I’m gonna ask you one question just to clarity the issue…Do you let your children get bullied or do you intervene “if you could?”And would it help if you did? Now if you say no, you either have your head in the sand or are lying ! And if you were not capable of taking care of said situation would you call the cops? Well that’s protection and a deterrent right and the Habs don’t have ANY! Ask onemanMalone…..

Mofo, what good does it do us if Malone gets suspended for 5 games or 10 games and we lose Campoli from a d corps that can’t afford to be further depleted?

If we play the lightning before Malone’s suspension elapses, one could argue that we might benefit from his absence for that game, but that’s it. Each team that plays the Lightning during that period stands to benefit equally, all at our expense.

Yes totally agree there from a philosophical and long term objective point of view but pragmatically speaking and looking at the present we might lose a player with no immediate benefit to us to offset his loss.

I’m just impatient I guess, I hope Shanahan is the real deal and continues down the path he’s on, the outcome would well be worth it in the long run.

My point here is that MJ’s points all day have been valid and IMO your reply was an uncalled for dis. If I thought you weren’t worth the time of day I wouldn’t even bother. It’s just a suggestion and a call for better behavior, and even though parts of my reply are in jest the gist of it is expressed with sincere respect.

Where are you taking us?
Can we wear shorts?
Do we bring our own or are you supplying that BC stuff?
Oh, shucks just realized you were talking to the pacifist Hab fans only!
Sorry my bad! Sounded like a good time

Our children have nothing to do with this (except we don’t want them playing a sport as dangerous as the current NHL game). This is just common sense… why keep asking player’s to fight players like Malone as retribution for cheap shots when it does not stop the cheap shots? These actions need to be policed by the league, not the players. The league has been doing it the way you advocate for years and look where we are… at the point where something must drastically change.

I did not watch the game but understood from Boone’s blog that Malone was wreaking havoc but I thought he was just hitting. I did not get that he was cheap shotting everyone. Or perhaps he wasn’t?

Cheap shots are supposed to be taken care of by the refs. Retaliation for cheap shots is usually a bad idea and more likely to be called.

Fighting over a cheap shot, a la Josh, is simply a way of saying “we saw, we don’t approve” and calling wider attention to the dirtiness of the play. It doesn’t actually matter if you win. Do you really think that Laraque filling-in Malone last night would change the way Malone plays? If you think so, I would suggest your are wrong. Okay, I think your nuts but I am working to reign in the hyperbole.

Fighting doesn’t fix or stop bad hits like Malone’s hit. But Shanahan might. I am glad Campoli appears okay. I hope he is. And I hope Malone is suspended. And I hope Shanahan keeps going until every players starts hitting the body.

And I hope Cole, and Max, A.K. and everyone else on the team with a few pounds starts laying on the body. That’s the answer to Malone. Hit back. Hit clean. Hit a lot.

I was also taken aback by the soft stance and lenient consensus of the commentariat. I surmise everyone would change their tune if the result was a serious concussion and a lengthy recovery. What if it was a top player?

——————————————————————-
When the Hebrew scouts investigate the Promised Land of Canaan and return to discourage the other Hebrews from entering it..”We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” [Numbers 13:33]

“It’s obvious your viewpoints are more important to you than the reality’s your broken senses are sending to your vacant craniums ! ”
I see your approach has changed.
And since when do hockey players have to be metaphorically compared to our children?
Your comparison is nothing but intangible rhetoric!
Signed, Eastern Pacifist.

Just so we’re keeping track, not only do you not understand hockey, you’re apparently not the wisest of parents.

If your kid gets bullied, should we expect you to send your cousin who lives in the attic, who’s a drain on the families resource to go kick the crap out of a child? No. A responsible parent teaches their kid how to stand up to bullies, and it’s not by fighting.

You know what limits cheap shots? Power play goals. I’d much rather have Yannick Weber on the fourth line and to step in for the power play than some goon that plays a couple minutes.

I can assure you that the Cup gets PLENTY of respect in New York, or Boston, or Philly. Why certain Canadian fans constantly crap on the USA is beyond me. I’ll remind you that the most recent affront to the Cup (dropping it and denting it) was done by a Newfoundlander (effing Ryder). And that the worst of all was done by the Habs who abandoned it for several hours in a snowbank while they partied.

Shantey, Starley, Shirly, it’s all the same to me. It’s tattoed on an absolute moron and it’s fitting. Did you see the shirtless picture (obviously taken from a cell-phone) of Ratchand giving the double birdie with his tongue out obviously totally intoxicated? Priceless and indicative of his white-trash behavior on or off the ice. I hope the rafters fail when they raise the cup flag, perhaps if we hab fans concentrate hard enough we can make it self combust on the way up. Lol. Bring on the season it’s gonna be fun!!!!!

The archaic NHL ‘code’ – an eye for an eye – was what prompted Gorges to jump into a situation he should not have been in. What a potential waste… imagine that as a result of the ‘code’ we start the season without two key defencemen. And all for nothing.

Malone’s hit was gutless and Gorges reaction did nothing but put him at risk. While I admire his courage, I would much rather see it put to more effective use… like playing shut down defence.

There was nothing that Gorges did that would prevent Malone or anyone else on that team from doing it again… let the league and the enforcement of effective rules banning actions like Malone’s do the job. The ‘code’ is finally dying. Good riddance to it.

I see both your points and that is why it would have helped to have a future Tinordi on the ice and not the current Gorges at the time of the hit. Gorges’ reaction was all heart and thankfully he tackled Malone before he could do more damage.

That is why having Gill on the ice when Malone went after Subban was effective at calming things down, a bit. We saw Malone only got more emboldened as the game went on.

As much as I am against fighting in the NHL I am more against players like Malone who impose their size in a manner which is either dirty, reckless or outside the rules.

It is in these instances where having somebody pound the crap out Malone beforehand could, and I don’t mean guarantees, lessen the probability of the Campoli hit happening. There could have also been other repercussions, such as another player’s tit-for-tatting thus causing an injury to another player.

IMO Campoli needs to be more heads up and see the freight train up ahead before skating aimlessly into its path.

Nevertheless, and in view of Malone’s on ice tactics resulting in the eventual cheap shot that led to an injury, a penalty and a removal from the game, what are teams supposed to do? Sit back and cry wolf? We all know how that story turned out.

My argument has always been that having the heavy weights insulates the team. Insulation doesn’t keep out the elements. It lessens their impact.

Totally agree with you on everything but the part about Campoli needing to be more heads up. Having your head down as Campoli did is not a green light for anyone on the ice to harm another player.

If Campoli could have been hit hard with no risk of injury to him (let alone the elbow that Malone threw in there for extra measure) then I have no issues with him getting hit, that’s part of the game.

Why would you not advise players to be more aware of their surroundings? If you have ever heard of defensive driving you will know what I am talking about.

Players should try as best as they can try to survey their blind spots when in full flight or about to make a move.

I agree with you that the onus is on the hitter and not the hittee when an illegal hit occurs but even removing the aspect of the hit that was outside the rules, Campoli would have been better served if he saw it coming. As it stood his only reaction was getting leveled rather than trying to avoid the hit or, at the very least, lessen its impact.

HH we’re saying the same thing. I’m saying that players must be aware of their surroundings but in the event they’re not, as was the case with Campoli, it’s not an invitation to be knocked unconscious.

I think youre missing the entire point of the big picture. While Gorges did put him self a risk, he also gained even more respect from his teamates. The Canadiens are not built on toughness and fighting, but as long as night in and night out each player on that team knows that the other will have their back, then it will pay off dividends.

Its a brotherhood for 82 games +, if nobody cares about their teamates then there is a definite issue in the locker room. Looks good on Gorges for sticking up for Campoli, if the roles were reversed in the future look for Campoli to do the same.

I think the three of you are missing the big picture. Fighting should be banned from the league within the next couple of years and this sort of stupid ‘eye for an eye’ reaction will be punishable by supension. You can’t allow allow Gorges to try and concus Malone as retribution for Malone trying to concus Campoli.

And there are a 100 other ways to stand up for your teammates and contribute more to the team… Gorges does it all the time.

You think that if they apply suspensions to players that fight, it would stop players from fighting after such a dirty play? I doubt it. Put it this way, these guys are a family, the instinct to defend each other is the same as the one most of us have if someone were to deliberately physically injure someone in our families while we stand there, I know my instinct wouldn’t be to call the cops first although I know full well that the law will punish the offending party and me if I react, hockey players are no different on the ice.

When most tough guys deliver a questionable hit, they know someone’s coming after them gloves off. They also understand that, depending who’s on the ice for the victim’s team, the guy coming might be far overmatched but obligated to drop the gloves anyway. Tough guys in this situation, against guys like Gorges, shouldn’t take out their deadly rage on these smaller guys standing up for their teammate. I’ve seen them just defend themselves, land a softer punch or two, and then easily tie up the inferior opponent. It really bothers me how Malone, a guy who should understand what it’s like to step into a fight, was so dishonourable about it. It’s beyond me how he can go ahead and protest, hands in the air, after blindsiding Campoli and going strangely berserk on Gorges, who he knew full well couldn’t hurt him.

Amen. And to high stick little Gorgeous to start the “fight’, totally gutless. The need for a CH policeman is still there.
——–
“The point is that Fergie wasn’t, and didn’t have to be, a non stop brawler. His hard earned reputation preceded him, and he could keep the opposition in line without spending all night in the penalty box.” – Jean Beliveau

Gorges made Ryan Hollweg turtle after that tough guy put a dirty hit on Sergei Kostitsyn (all while Bouillon beat up Colton Orr). Malone isn’t a tough guy. He’s a jerk with big money in his eyes. Frankly I can’t remember the last time he had a fight with anyone, typical tough guy or otherwise. (And I don’t count him going after PK for daring to hit his lady Vince with a very normal hit). I know most Pittsburgh fans think very little of him…

No, I expected him to not go crazy, as if Gorges slept with his wife. Look up ‘false dilemma’. There aren’t just two options: letting Gorges pound on him or pounding on Gorges. Watch a few similar instances and you’ll see that the bigger guy often goes easier than he would against another bigger guy; that’s the middle ground Malone should have taken. Instead, he was being a dishonourable douche and all I hear from people defending fighting is this ‘honour’ BS.

I’m tasting the end of the goon era; Dryden’s piece in the Sat Globe was excellent, and Shanny is doing exactly what it’s gonna take to put this crap behind us. Fighting will also disappear within the next year, a headshot is a headshot, no matter how it’s delivered and by what body part.

Watch hockey from <1980 and it amazes me how few times heads got hit, how what we call finishing a check was then known as charging or boarding. Nobody's taking the physical play out of hockey, it's just being tempered.

Yes. Even at the peak of the 70s broad street bullies era this euphemism of skating 30 feet to blindside an opponent nowhere near possession of the puck was called “2 minutes” not “finishing your check”

The only asinine hockey expression that is worse than the current use of “finishing his check” is “it was just a hockey play”.

Good news. I watched the game from my iPhone thanks to justintv app and even on that tiny screen Malone looked to me like he threw his elbow in for good measure. Really in this day & age you’d think players would wise up. Go Shanny go. Wish he was in last year then we’d have a different “Shantey cup champians”

that’s not the point though. the point is that people think that having a guy who can fight on the team will prevent incidents like this from happening. yeah, it would be “nice” if someone could have cleaned Malone’s clock, but it wouldn’t have made any whiff of a difference in the outcome of the incident except for the possibility of seeing our “beloved” tough guy get a suspension too.